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Mention “rectal exam” and many people cringe and even avoid making that doctor appointment. But what exactly does a digital rectal exam entail, and who needs one? Doctors may perform a rectal exam to look for tumors or cancers inside the rectum, assess the functioning of your anal sphincter, evaluate for hemorrhoids or determine other causes of pain or bleeding. Both women and men may find themselves in need of this exam. However, due to the increasing risk of prostate cancer that comes with age, men are the more likely candidates for a rectal exam. 

As a urologist who specializes in sexual health and male infertility, I’ve had concerned patients ask if COVID-19 will affect their current and future fertility potential. Many couples are already dealing with fertility issues beyond their control and see the virus as an additional stressor. 

The early morning sunlight peeks through the curtains, the birds twitter outside and your sneakers lie by the door, ready for you. The only question is, Will you get up and go?

What’s the most common sexual problem men report to their doctor? If you guessed erectile dysfunction (ED), you’re correct — and yet a mere fraction of those who struggle with this condition seek help. This is partly due to fear and partly due to misconceptions about ED and the treatments available. With over 30 million men impacted, it is important to dispel the common myths surrounding ED. Because this issue affects over 40 percent of men above age 40 and over 70 percent of men above age 70, according to the Urology Care Foundation, the chances of you or someone you know struggling with erection problems at some point are likely. 

It’s a half-hour before bedtime and you’re scrolling through your smartphone. You check the outside security cameras, ensure the garage door is closed, check on locked doors, enable your alarm and dim the lights in the kids’ rooms … doing it all through the apps on your cell phone. In between, you scroll a few more times through your social media feeds. The routine is familiar for many, but this nightly habit may have unintended consequences for male fertility. 

Both men and women produce testosterone, but for males the hormone plays a star role in puberty when it enables the development of hair growth, libido, muscle mass, bone strength and, most importantly, sperm production. A natural decline in male testosterone occurs after age 30 and begins to drop 1 to 2 percent a year around age 40. 

Al Roker’s recent announcement of his prostate cancer diagnosis is a perfect example of why men in his demographic need to visit their doctor for regular exams. If cancer is found and discovered early enough, it can be managed and potentially cured. The red flag that arises during the routine screening and lab test concerns the PSA, or prostate-specific antigen, but there are also other tests that can be run with new technology to arrive at a diagnosis. For the many men who remain hesitant or anxious about a rectal exam and prostate check — especially African-American men who don’t obtain regular screenings and therefore die of this cancer in greater numbers — Roker’s diagnosis is a wake-up call with this message: Come in and get checked.  

You may be in the shower, getting dressed or getting intimate with your partner when you first discover a cluster of bumps . . . down there. Genital warts, the result of contracting one of over 70 strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that almost a half million people a year contend with and worry about to the point of sometimes avoiding medical care out of misplaced embarrassment.